


your love (i'm lost in)

by lostinlodge



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Archie Andrews Being Archie Andrews, Archie and Betty too, Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, M/M, Post-College AU, Romantic Soulmates, Some angst, Varchie!Centric, Veronica Lodge Needs a Hug, Veronica and Jughead are bffs, adult varchie AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:20:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22925554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostinlodge/pseuds/lostinlodge
Summary: After the unforgettable graduation that caused many heartbreaks, Archie and Veronica go back to Riverdale after six years because of the unknown notes. Though, the new mystery might bring past lovers a little closer.
Relationships: (background) Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones, Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge
Comments: 39
Kudos: 63





	1. the town of memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Keep in mind that this is my first fic ever written in english and no one beta this, but you know, I'm trying my best.
> 
> I just wanna keep my varchie fam entertained 'cause canon sucks as always.
> 
> Also it' s not really canon compliant. There are a few things from the show, but you'll see.

_we can begin at the top,  
am I waking you up?_

The rain just can't stop raining. Drops of water hit the train windows very quickly, as the vehicle stops on the train station in Centerville, only a few stops before a certain Town With Pep. The red-headed boy looks through the window and wonders, _what the hell is he doing._

He hasn't been in Riverdale for over five years, ever since the graduation. Mary Andrews moved in with Archie after his dad died summer before the senior year, but she didn't stay there for long. She came back to Chicago, where she always belonged, so Archie didn't have a reason for coming back. 

Archie Andrews _loved_ Riverdale, it was his home. For a little while, he even thought that he would stay there after finishing school, he felt like this town needed him. But in the end he decided to follow his high school aspirations to become a musician. SATs went quite well for him, so he said, _screw it_ and chose a college far away from the state of New York. University of San Diego in California, majoring in music. 

The thought of coming back is moderately terrifying, not because of the town itself, but because of the people that he's most likely to see - his closest friends from school and one girl in particular.

The chocolate-eyed girl with the most beautiful smile he has ever seen. The girl that he was mad about. The girl he has been already planning a whole life with, but the stupid graduation changed everything. 

Archie sits impatiently, waiting for the train to stop. He runs his hand through the orange hair, trying to figure out what's gonna happen next. But most importantly, _who sent the damn note._

_a week ago_

"Dude, it was awesome!" says Munroe, one of Archie's best friends, and gives him the high five. 

"Thanks, man." Archie walks out of the recording room. _the new song might be a hit_ , he thinks and takes a sip from the water bottle on the table. 

Gina, his manager, walks into the room and announces that his first album will be finished soon. She excuses Munroe for a moment and sits next to Archie on the couch. 

"I'm really proud of you, kid," she tells him, touching his arm. "I was hoping you wouldn't waste your talent and hard work and here we are." She hugs him quickly while tapping his back and leaves the room. 

Gina was like an older sister he never had. They met at the local bar where he was singing his first songs written by himself on Friday nights. She discovered his music and then everything happened so fast. Many people working for him, record studios and writing songs many hours a day. That's how his life started to look like. Everyone was there for _him_. He wasn't use to that, Archie mostly had a role of a selfless hero rather than a center of attention. He wasn't use to people actually helping him. 

Young musician comes to the apartment he's been visiting a lot since he moved to San Diego. He knocks on the door and stands in front of it. He's really excited to tell _them_ about the album, his biggest fans. 

The door opens and behind it, there's a little human. A blonde little human in particular. 

"Hi!" the little girl looks up to see his face and hugs Archie's legs before he can realise it. The kid takes his hand and leads Archie to the living room. "Come on in!" 

"Hey Juliet," the young woman kneels by the girl. "can you draw us something?" she asks the little one and taps her back.

"It's good that you came," she points at the couch for Archie to sit down and sits on it herself, looking very concerned. He usually doesn't see her like that. "we need to talk." 

_Betty Cooper._ His best friend since childhood, his greatest supporter and one of the most important people in his life. She didn't change much from high school years. She's still the same blonde girl with eyes filled with joy, although she, now, wears her hair mostly down. Also she has matured a lot over these years, his friend was always the responsible one from their group of friends, but after she had Juliet, it felt like she simply decided to take whatever the universe planned for her and turn it into something special. 

"What's going on?" he urgently sits next to Betty and looks in confusion. His excitement about the first album fades after the blond girl explains the situation. 

"Did you get this invitation?" she takes the white envelope from the table and hands it to him. "I can't believe it." she sighs. 

Red-headed boy opens it carefully and looks at the invitation. "Wait," he's confused. There has to be a missing piece to this story. "it's just a homecoming invitation, you're able not to go, you know that, right?" Archie's surprised. Betty wouldn't make such a big deal if it was just about it. 

"What? No!" Betty breaks the envelope out of his hands, pulls a little note and shows him. " _This_ is what I'm talking about." she says irritated. 

**If you don't want anyone to know your secrets, you better come to the homecoming.  
-Anonymous**

"Who would do that, Archie?" her eyes fight not to tear up. "Who's messing with our lives again?" she freezes in place for a moment and then goes. "Did you get one?" 

"I- I don't know. I haven't checked my mail." he thinks and then practically jumps out of the couch and heads towards the door. "I think I have to go. I call you later!" he shouts and leaves Betty alone. 

He looks around his apartment, in the center of San Diego. He lives alone but has his friends coming over a lot. The boxes of thai food leftovers from last night order are still laying on the kitchen table. In his bedroom, there are white sheets that were supposed to have texts of his new songs, but he lately didn't have inspiration to write anything. He doesn't even dare to look at the bathroom. It's so untidy that he thinks his my mom would kill him if she saw this mess. 

He walks to take the mail to see if he got the same invitation and _yes_ , he most certainly did. It also contained a threat that Betty got. He's wondering who also got this. _Cheryl Blossom? Reggie Mantle, maybe? Perhaps, even Kevin Keller? Did Veronica and Jughead also get it?_

He didn't see anyone from his high school friends, excluding Betty, for over five years. He once saw Toni Topaz a few years back on vacation in Los Angeles. They didn't talk though, he just _saw_ her having fun with some friends who weren't her red-liking girlfriend. He realized, at that moment, that not only he and Betty broke up with their high school sweethearts. 

New York City has a lot of nicknames. The Big Apple. The capital of the World. The City of Dreams. It was most certainly a city of _her_ dreams. A city of her goals and desires, but also a city of her tears and hard work. _It was her home._

Veronica Lodge was never the kind of girl who would aim for the small town, so naturally she chose college in NYC, close to her family _and her heart,_ she always says when someone asks her about the city.

Columbia University was the perfect choice for her. She decided to major in business, although it wasn't the surprise of the year. She literally had it planned since middle school. But the years of college and business school were over. Now, she decided to run her own establishment. 

"Coffee for Veronica!" barista shouts and said girl takes her order and heads to _Pétales De Rose_ , her freshly opened entrepreneurship, newest addition to _Lodge Infinity_. _she probably should get an assistant,_ she thinks while ordering an Uber. 

The Uber driver takes her to a location in Manhattan, where she just opened her new restaurant. _La Bonne Nuit_ inspired her a lot. She still can't believe that she opened a speakeasy at the age of seventeen and she not only had it but she also successfully run a whole business.

Sometimes she would like to go back to Riverdale just to see how is her business doing but she can't.

Veronica would rather die than confess that she's simply scared of coming back. Her therapist probably would want her to go back there, to collide with her deep-seated demons, but she's not interested in doing that. 

She opens the door of the building and walks inside. The decor is from the 1920s, inspired by _The Great Gatsby_ \- one of her favorites books of all times. 

She stops to admire how well it looks after major renovations. Her interior designer, Brett Wallis, definitely outdone himself. The inside looks just like she wanted it, even better.

She met Brett through Kevin, one her best friends ever since high school. Kevin and Brett dated for a little bit, but something didn't work. Fortunately, her work with the young designer didn't suffer because of it. 

_Speak of the devil,_ she thinks while looking at her ringing cell phone. Veronica sees Kevin's name on the display and quickly answers the phone call. 

"Hey," she starts. " I was just thinking about you." Veronica smiles, still unaware of what's going to happen to her very soon. 

"By your good frame of mind I can already tell that you haven't seen the news yet." he speaks bluntly with a little bit of worry in his voice. 

"What are you talking about?" she asks in bewilderment, clearly oblivious of what her best friend is talking about. 

"It's just- I think that you should check your mail." he adds and then suddenly hangs up. _what the hell,_ she ponders and hurriedly decides to go home. 

She quickly searches for the keys, seemingly nervous. _what mail was he talking about,_ she reflects.

Veronica lives by herself in an extensive apartment in Upper West Side. Her friends always like to implie how _huge_ her home is, but she would rather use the word _comfortable._ They also can't live without talking about her love life 'cause this house is too big for just one person'. She got used to living alone though. 

Besides a few flings, she didn't really have anyone important in her life after the red-headed Adonis. At first she couldn't understand why nothing worked out for her. She was pretty, smart, ambitious and successful. _a perfect girl,_ she thought, _so why did no one want her?_ She realized something in the end. The point was that they never really understood her, _at least not like him._

Most of her friends were as single as she was, so she never felt weirdly left out by the concept of love. Except, of course, Katy and K.O. These two were the living definition of love. She shouldn't be thrilled about her best friends' misfortune in the area of lust, but she was simply glad that she wasn’t the only one without a soulmate. 

After seeing a bunch of envelopes lying on the glass table in the living room, she remembers that she left them in this place this morning. She reaches for them and reads their fronts, looking for a specific one.

One of the letters attracts her attention. The sender is _Riverdale High School._ She didn't see this name in years. She opens the envelope and realizes that it is an invitation. An invitation to a homecoming, to be specific. Everyone who graduated the school more than five years ago is invited. And, _of course,_ she had to graduate it _six_ years ago.

That's not the only card in the enclosure. She notices a little note and by its content, she can already say that no one from the Riverdale High School office wrote it. 

**If you don't want anyone to know your secrets, you better come to the homecoming.  
-Anonymous**

_what the hell,_ she immediately thinks. The thoughts are coming to her mind so hastily. All of the nice memories she has associated with Riverdale are covered with the awful, even traumatic ones. Murders and serial killers. This place is a living memory of her family breaking. _Veronica Lodge is not going anywhere, and certainly no one will threaten her,_ she speaks to herself. But, at that point, is she really so sure of it? 

She takes her phone and calls one of the most frequently called contacts. 

"Hey," Veronica hears a familiar voice in her ear. "did you get a letter?" she notices the change of tone in his voice, just like he knew how she would feel in this situation. 

"I did," she answers neutrally, trying to play it cool and act as if this note didn't completely throw her off. "what do you think about it? This note is just a silly joke, right?" Veronica tries to reassure herself that everything is going to be just fine. 

She sits on the beige sofa and puts her feet, free of the high heels, on the coffee table in front of her. Suddenly she feels so tired, even though the day barely started for her. 

"Veronica, I don't think it's just a joke," he tells her sincerely, so she would understand the seriousness of the situation. "someone apparently wants to bring us all together. I believe we should go."

They should go? _Jughead Jones can't be serious right now,_ she judges. They weren't in that nightmare town for six damn years. She wouldn't lie saying that Riverdale left its mark on her life and most definitely not in a good kind of way. She associated many things with Riverdale, but the things she remembered the most were just funerals and broken hearts. 

Drama is her middle name when it comes to this town filled with maple syrup and she perfectly knows about it. 

"You know what?" Jughead gasps through the cell. "I'll meet you in a bit and we're gonna talk, okay?’’ he tries to keep her calm.

Veronica doesn't hear a single slight knock on her door, but she can tell by the sound of groaning and taking off the shoes that her best friend Jughead came to the apartment. 

_Oh, Forsythe Pendleton Jones The 3rd._ She always thought that Forsythe would sound nicer and certainly more professional than Jughead, especially considering the fact that he started college and wanted to become a writer, but he insisted to call him like that, claiming that it will be more original and people will easily remember his name. _since it's simply weirder,_ she wanted to announce. 

He's been a rock of hers throughout all these years. At first it was strange - seeing him in New York, but without Archie and Betty by their sides. They were all supposed to study together in the city. Rent an apartment, kickoff their careers. Little did they know that the graduation would change almost all of their plans for future. 

Veronica and Jughead ended up living in the same big city and growing into besties for life and even more - literal platonic soulmates. 

Comparing their friendship in Riverdale and in NYC, they could say that before, they were far away from being even close friends. They were more like their best friends' sweethearts. But, now, said best friends were nowhere to be found - as if they even wanted to find them. 

He comes from behind her and touches her shoulder to comfort the raven-haired beauty. "You okay?" he mumbles and sits next to her on the sofa in the living room. 

"Define being okay." she voices while changing the position on the couch, seemingly uncomfortable. "Are you coming?" Veronica pops the question. 

"I think so," Jughead says softly. "well, not only we were threatened, but Ron-" he looks at her, trying to meet her chocolate eyes. "it's just one stupid homecoming. We can still have fun." 

"I will think about it." _of course, she'll say no,_ she thinks but doesn't want to upset Jughead too much. "I'm actually kinda tired right now. 

"I get it, but please," he takes her hand to show how serious he is. " _really_ think about it."

It's not like she doesn't want to go at all. Part of her would love to visit the town she went to high school, but she also knows that aside from all of her past friend, there will be _him._

Archie _fucking_ Andrews. The boy she would do anything for. It even scares her now, how a guy could have such an influence on her. Thinking about him makes her sick to her stomach. Not because she hates him though, but because if she saw him, she would feel the feelings she hasn't experienced in such a _long_ time. _She would want him back._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lyrics are from Shallou-Begin(ft. Wales)
> 
> So I've had this idea in my mind for a few months, but I wasn't sure if I want to write a fic. I'm still not sure! No idea when and if I'm even gonna post it, but if you read it, then it means that I had some balls to finally do it lol.
> 
> Find me on:  
> twitter @vcrslodge  
> tumblr @lostinlodge
> 
> Mel xx


	2. the iconic comeback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so to be clear it's not going to be canon-compliant, though it will have a few things from canon!
> 
> anyway, let's begin chapter 2

_quiet when I'm coming home_

_and I'm on my own_

  
  
  


_a day before the homecoming_

  
  
  


Archie Andrews hasn't been in his hometown for _ages_ , nonetheless, he wanted to come back just to see how the town's been doing while he was away. So much time has passed and he never had a chance to visit it. _Or maybe he did, but just didn't want to go?_

_it's the perfect opportunity then,_ he thinks, trying to cheer himself up and reassure that it's going to be just fine. 

_It's obviously not like someone threatened, possibly, his friends and him._

He gets out of the train at the final station. He swears that he, already, can smell the sweetwater maple syrup and he's arrived not more than five minutes ago. It's just like he remembered it. 

Seeing his ancient truck waiting for him on the parking lot, he can't help but reflect the memories he has correlated to this thing. He used to sneak in the night and take this car when his dad was sleeping. He sometimes wishes that he could be sixteen years old again. Young and innocent and his biggest problem was, how to balance music with football practices. 

The ride to his home in Riverdale is _such_ a nostalgic experience. Nothing changed at all for him. He's still able to recall the time he essentially fell of this tree next to the Coopers' house. Or the time Betty and he were playing hide and seek in the neighborhood. Or that one night when Jughead got the idea to sleep in the tent behind Archie's house. _good times_ , he ponders. 

He's finally here. The famous Elm Street in the Northside. He could recognize the certain yellow, two-floored building everywhere. 

He takes his whole baggage out of the car and heads to the front door. It hasn't hit him before, but he finally realizes that he's there for real. It's not just a dream. It's not one of his nightmares either. He's been having them for a few years now. They weren't regular, but they were always coming the nights he hadn't been thinking about Riverdale _at all_. 

The inside looks just how he left it six years ago. It's a little messy, _as always,_ but it will work for him anyway. _it's not like he has to stay here for long_ ** _,_ **he assumes. He glances at the family photos in the living room. Fred Andrews was repeatedly saying how keeping the memories, especially in the images, was so important. That's why his apartment in San Diego was filled with them, kind of, to honor his father. 

He goes to see his room. _The_ iconic Archie Andrews' room.The first thing he notices is the posters from Marvel movies on the walls. He looks around and concludes that he definitely remembered it worse. It's even quite spacious, probably, because he packed most of his belongings, doubtless that he would come back anytime soon. Turns out that he was right. The drawers and wardrobe are empty. He's surprised that there's still bedding laying on his bed. 

He moves to the desk. He left there some stuff, too. There are a lot of photos of his family and high school buddies. _and, of course, he had to leave a whole-ass framed photo of his former girlfriend_ , he determines.

Archie stops to study the raven-haired girl's photo. She was so young on it. Probably fifteen years old. Her smile was one of the things he loved in her the most. But not anymore. He struggles to get these kinds of thoughts out of his mind and puts the picture away. 

He sometimes can't understand how can't he simply move on. It's been six years since he last saw _her_. He run away all the way to California to begin his brand new life, but somehow she was still there, in his thoughts. He wasn't constantly daydreaming about his ex-girlfriend, though it kinda felt like it. She had him wrapped around her little finger and she wasn’t even aware of that. 

The phone ring stops him from his unfortunate thoughts and further room exploration. 

"Hey," he hears Betty's soft voice over the phone. "you already there?" The blond girl is supposed to join him in Riverdale in a few hours. She had to _figure out some stuff_. At least that’s what she said when she was seeing him off at the airport yesterday.

"Yeah, I just got to my house." he says truthfully. 

"Oh, great." she quickly adds. "Do you think my parents are at home? My mom told me they went on a vacation to Hawaii or something." He's surprised to hear that. He guesses that Betty's mom is having the time of her life after her daughters moved out to start college. 

Betty always thought that her mother was even glad that she and Polly had finally moved out. Alice Cooper had her job as a journalist in her own newspaper. Additionally, she was happily married to her high school sweetheart - Hal Cooper. She had everything she needed in one place and she didn't need to leave Riverdale to find happiness, _unlike Archie and many of his high school friends_. 

"I can see your mom's car on the driveway." he looks through the window. "So you decided to finally bring Juliet here?" he's curious to see her decision about the little one. Betty was hesitant about it, to say the least. Juliet was her daughter, so naturally, she almost lost it when the note said that she had to bring her little girl to town. 

"Yes and I hope that I won't regret it." she reveals to Archie. "God, someone, not only, threatens us but also tells me to bring my daughter. It's not going to end well." Betty voices her fears.

"Hey, Betty." he tries to comfort his best friend. "Maybe it's just a prank. More, we probably know this person." he lays on the bed, exhausted from the travel. To get to Riverdale, he had to take a plane from San Diego to New York and then a train from The Big Apple to his sweet hometown. 

"I genuinely don't know how you can be so optimistic about it." she sighs heavily. Archie Andrews was always the definition of optimism. Some people loved it about him, but the rest began to be annoyed. _how can you constantly be like that_ , he heard a couple of times, but this character trait was plainly in his DNA. 

He hears a doorbell from downstairs. _maybe it's Alice Cooper_ , he assumes, absolutely clueless about who else could it be. No one even knew that he was in town. 

"Hold on a minute. Somebody knocked on the door." he quickly says and runs to the entry. 

He opens but finds _no one_ behind it. The only thing he notices is the little note on the doormat. He picks it up and already can say that it's from the same person who wrote the previous one. 

" _Holy crap._ " he mumbles to the phone and worries Betty right away. 

  
  


**Come to the school the night before the homecoming.**

  
  


"Arch? Archie!" she seems distressed. "What happened?" 

"I got a new note." 

  
  
  


Ever since the invitation Veronica and her friends got almost a week ago, they've been trying to convince her to come with them. Unfortunately, they had to break Veronica Lodge for her to agree to it and she isn't the most submissive person they could find. 

"You do realize that someday you're gonna have to come back to Riverdale, don't you?" Jughead says firmly, while he's packing for this little trip. 

Veronica accompanies Kevin and Jughead the last day before they take the train to go back to that town full of affliction. She still can't understand how they can be so eager to go back there _and_ want to force her to do the same. 

"No, I don't think so." she simply responds and sits next to her friend on the floor. She takes her favorite Jughead's shirts from his wardrobe and puts them in the suitcase. She wonders, what he would do without her as she always knows what to do and how to dress to not look like a _weirdo_ , he acted to be. 

"Veronica, please, so many things happened in six years." Kevin comes to her and takes her hand. "You're gonna be able to brag about your successful life for the whole night." _He's not wrong, isn't he?_

"I think I'm gonna pass on this one," she tries to force a smile on her face. "but hey, I'm sure it will be fun." her friends' faces light up a little. "For you." And just like that, she crushes her friends' hope to see her in Riverdale ever again. 

"Where are you, guys, staying, by the way?" she asks honestly curious. "Because you're obviously welcome in the Pembrooke." she offers them a place to stay since she doesn't want. Jughead to sleep in the trailer or anything like that. 

"Thanks, but this place gives me frightful headaches." he looks all gnarled up and touches his head. 

"May I ask why?" she turns her head to meet his ocean blue eyes. She, maybe even, heard these words before, though she's not really sure. 

"Oh, I just don't feel good in such small places." he jokes, mimicking Veronica's words that she said after seeing Jughead's apartment in Queens for the first time. 

"Ha ha. Very funny, Forsythe." she says through her teeth and folds her arms, like a grumpy child. 

"But seriously though, it would probably be claustrophobic for you, huh?" he tries to improve the mood in his apartment since he already knows that nothing he or Kevin say will make Ronnie come back there. 

"You're ridiculous." she laughs and slightly punches Jughead in the arm. 

"You, two, are adorable." Kevin adds, after witnessing their little fight. 

"Oh, shut up, Kevin." she giggles with both of her best friends. 

_she has such good people in her life_ , she appreciates. Even when she wasn't sure of many things in her life, they were always certain. She knew that, no matter what, she could always count on them. And that's exactly why she needed them not to pressure her about going, because they know her and remember every little thing that happened with her after leaving town. So not them and not even _the_ note will make her put herself in the train to Riverdale at 7 a.m.

Veronica has reasons to not want to go, but Jughead has them, too. Which is why she was so stunned when she first heard that he actually is willing to go. When Kevin announced that he had to go, it was a perfect opportunity to Jughead about it.

‘’How can you do that?’’ she randomly inquires and glances at his confused face.

‘’Do what?’’ 

‘’Be so calm about going to Riverdale,’’ she starts seemingly upset about it. ‘’considering the fact that Kevin, Jughead, Cheryl and I got the notes, so that means that Archie and Betty probably got one, too.’’ she almost whispers the last part of the sentence as if these two names were forbidden to say. But they weren’t, _technically_. 

‘’The red queen also got a threat?’’ he asks stupidly, trying to avoid answering the real question, but after he notices Veronica’s face, that looks like she’s going to snap any second now, he’s probably gonna answer it. ‘’Okay, fine. I’m not calm. Not at all, but we’re the bigger people here, remember?’’ she nods and Jughead goes on. ‘’They can’t be a reason for us to not do something. It was six years ago, Veronica. Everyone moved on and I don’t even care if they’re together or not.’’

Veronica doesn’t believe him at all. Yes, he might moved on, but he unequivocally still cared about them. He always acts like he’s unaffected by everything that happened. _But how can’t he be?_ She knows him so well that it’s almost insulting for her when he denies all of it, like she wasn’t even there, by his side for all these years. 

  
  
  


Even though, Veronica and Jughead had a little disagreement, she’s still there, at the train station to say goodbye with her friends. Right before they got on the vehicle, Veronica had to assure them that if she changed her mind, she would immediately call them. It wasn’t in her plans, but she promised.

She went back to her apartment to take a rest and chose to drink her second cup of coffee this day, so she heat up the water and waited for it to boil while reading a Vogue magazine. 

She has a really bad anxiety because of something, but she's not sure what. Almost feeling like she's being watched, she closes the curtains in the living room. _but who would observe her on the 46th floor,_ she wonders and dismisses the strong feeling, blaming it on the stress she's been under lately. 

As she's pouring the coffee into the cup, she hears a doorbell. She comes carefully to the door, unlocks it and opens. 

There is nobody there. She wants to shut the entry, but she spots a white note in front of her feet. _not again,_ she begs as she reaches to read it. 

  
  


**It's your last chance to come back to Riverdale or your secrets will be out.**

  
  


_Fuck._

  
  
  


He sees a red car parking at the Coopers' driveway. Betty finally arrived, but not alone. For the first time, she brought her daughter here. He wasn't so sure if she would end up doing it. 

His friend wasn't avoiding Riverdale like a fire in contrast to Archie. Betty's parents still lived here and they were constantly inviting Betty and Juliet to come. She never took her daughter though, he didn't know the exact reason but he certainly could figure out why. 

"Hi, girlie." Archie squats next to the child and greets her. "How do you like Riverdale?" he questions the little one.

"Well, it's nice." she admits faintly and turns to her mom. "Can I go to see nana and grandpa now?" her face quickly lights up. 

"Sure, Juls." Betty kisses her on the forehead and lets her go. When the girl disappears from view, his friend's smile turns in a stressed surface. "What if Jughead's here too?" she stares at the red-headed boy. 

"Bett-" he tries to tell her something, but she immediately interrupts him. 

"I was trying to play it cool for Juliet's sake, but I've been freaking out since I got the note." she finally admits. "I have no idea what to do, what will happen if Jughead finds out?" she leans on the car and a single tear runs down her cheek. 

"Listen," he touches her arm to comfort her, but he wants to say something that it's opposite. "in my opinion, what you did, you _not_ telling him, was _so_ wrong." Betty looks at him quite surprised, he never said anything like that to her. "He's the father, so he deserves to know the truth and Juliet deserves to have a dad. If I were Jughead, I would want to know, despite everything that happened between you, two. 

She stares at her feet for a few seconds. Archie's weirdly proud of himself. He supported Betty since day one, but he never had enough balls to say what he thinks about this whole situation, until now. 

"You're right." she simply accepts, but then avoids the rest of the conversation. "Can you help me with my bags?" 

Archie nods and both of them move to the trunk. After greetings with the Coopers, they go upstairs to put the suitcases in Betty's room. She goes to put her phone on the night table, but instead she notices _a note._ The same that Archie had gotten earlier that day. The one that tells them to come, the night before the homecoming, to school. _This night._

"Is this person planning a meeting of everyone?" Archie concludes. It means that he will finally know who also gets these messages besides Betty and him. More, it means that it's highly possible that Veronica _freaking_ Lodge might be there too and truthfully, he doesn't know how to feel about it. Is he happy that he eventually might be able to explain everything? Maybe it's the way to finally clear his mind, once and for all. 

  
  
  


_the night before the homecoming_

  
  


It's a little after midnight when they're walking to Riverdale High School. Archie looks back at all the walks he took to school, ever, since freshman year. He knew the way like the back of his hand. He often accompanied Betty on this way. _And then Veronica._

Archie and his blonde friend could never shut up their mouths. The talks about the school, Blue and Gold, their partners and literally anything were constant. Now, for the first time, it's completely silent. As a matter of fact, Archie can't hear anything at all. Though he's not sure if it's because it really is that quiet, or maybe his own thoughts are loud enough to silence everything around him. 

They are supposed to enter through the window of English Literature classroom. He doesn't recall much from Mrs. Brown's classes. He mostly slept them through on the seat at the back of the classroom. 

Betty goes first, but Archie's right after her. He hopes that his broad shoulders would fit in the window and they thankfully do. 

"Did you take flashlights?" Betty looks at Archie, almost sure that he didn't, but he switches on one of the flashlights in her face with a triumphal face and starts searching the room. 

"You're stupid." Betty giggles softly. "What are you doing right now?" She looks confused at him while he's shining with a flashlight on the whole classroom. "Looking for notes, or someth- Oh, there it is." 

  
  


**Go to the Student Lounge.**

  
  


Student Lounge was a place in the school where the red-headed boy and his friends hang out a lot. Especially just four of them - Archie, Betty, Jughead and Veronica. Four musketeers, always together.

This place is much more awful when it's night. The man's glad he managed to finish this school. It's so nostalgic to walk down this corridor once again. He honestly doubted that it would happen.

And here it is. The Student Lounge. They stop before the entrance, maybe fearful of what they're going to see. Or more likely, _who_ they're going to see. 

_It's now or never,_ Archie realizes and looks at Betty to have her permission to open the door and she nods. 

He opens the big door to the room and just stands there, at the entrance, unable to say anything. Betty's right next to him probably as overwhelmed as he is.

There are five people sitting on the couches and armchairs. Reggie Mantle, once a football player, now a professional businessman. Kevin Keller, the theatre kid turned into a theatre actor. Cheryl Blossom, a fashion designer, who seems to accept more than one color today. Toni Topaz, an experienced photographer. And Jughead Jones, Archie's ex-best friend since childhood. The boy that was always obsessed about criminals, nowadays writes books himself. Though, there is no sight of the raven-haired beauty, Veronica Lodge. 

They are still standing frozen like they're pinned to the floor when Cheryl is the first one to break the silence. 

"Well, well, well, _the_ first couple arrived together." she says with a smirk on her face. "Welcome to this nightmare town." 

He set himself a goal. He wanted to explain everything to Veronica to clean his mind, yet she's not here, but Jughead, his best friend, is so he's got to make it clear he and Betty are not a couple, and never were in the first place. 

"Uh, we- we're not together." he claims awkwardly, trying to sound as much reliable as possible. 

"Yeah, we're not." Betty backs him up and catches a glance with Jughead, but he looks unbothered. 

"Okay, I honestly don't care about it, but can we start now?" Toni announces and stops the awkwardness at the same time. "Or are we waiting for someone more?" 

"Is Veronica coming?" Betty pops the question to everyone. 

Hearing people saying her name makes him feel something weird in his stomach and it happens every _freaking_ time. He once met a girl in college, Veronica Wilson, blonde hair, blue eyes, pale complexion. She was the complete opposite of Ronnie, but he still couldn't say her name without thinking about a certain chocolate-eyed girl. 

"Well, she's got a note, but she decided not to come." Jughead explains and Archie's seemingly shocked, same as Betty. He had no idea that Jughead and Veronica were close. 

"And she's the only smart one out of us. I shouldn't have come here. " Cheryl sighs and sits on the red couch like she's tired. 

"You didn't have to come if you didn't want to." Toni hisses. These two aren't really on speaking terms from what Archie sees. 

"Yeah, maybe I-" 

"Hush! I think someone's here." Reggie stops girls from the fight and it's actually the first words he said with Archie and Betty in the room. 

They are able to hear the steps coming from the main corridor. 

"Is there any way that it could be just another person who got a note not a person who actually wrote it?" Betty tries to analyze it quickly. 

"No, I don't think that anyone but us and Veronica got this threat." Kevin replies firmly. 

"So what are we doing?" Cheryl whispers loudly enough to everyone to hear her and stands up. 

"Does, by any chance, any of you have a gun?" Reggie asks the group seriously. 

"Wha-" Betty tries to say something, but Archie cuts her sentence. 

"I do." 

"Archie?! Why did you bring a gun here? How long have you even had this thing?!" his blonde friend interrogates him, almost outraged by this whole situation. 

"It doesn't matter, Cooper." Toni silences her. "Archie, take this gun." 

"Guys, this is crazy." Kevin adds, but no one listens to him anymore. Everyone just stands looking at the door, waiting for it to open as if they're about to die. 

Archie holds a gun in his hands, fighting with his body not to start shaking, even though he's freaking out. He really can't believe that, right now, he's in Riverdale in his old high school with the people he hasn't seen for six years. And all of this is happening while he's holding a gun pointing it on the door. _how did he end up here,_ he wonders. 

However, there's no time to think about it 'cause the door is being opened and it's definitely not a person who threatened him and his friends. 

The person behind the door is wearing a yellow dress, under her iconic cape, and high heels. Her hair is a little wavy and her makeup is still flawless, just like it was six years ago when he last saw her, the night of the graduation, on this stupid party. 

In front of him, stands Veronica Lodge, in the flesh. _And he's literally aiming a gun at her_. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so here we are. Now things are going to get more interesting since now everyone is in town. 
> 
> Oh, and it's not going to be a long fic, max. 10 chapters, I think. 
> 
> Thank you for all the feedback I got. It was really supportive<3
> 
> Find me on:  
> twitter @vcrslodge  
> tumblr @lostinlodge
> 
> Mel xx


	3. homecoming king and queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *inserting the 'i bet you thought you'd seen the last of me' gif*
> 
> lol i'm still here and i'll write more in the end of the chapter notes, for now, enjoy these 4,5k words!

_ain't nobody hurt you like I hurt you_

_but ain't nobody love you like I do_

_promise that I will not take it personal, baby_

_if you're moving on with someone new_

_the day before the homecoming, NYC_

**_It's your last chance to come back to Riverdale or your secrets will be out._ **

Veronica picks up a note from the floor and takes it inside her New York apartment. The numbness runs in her body and she feels almost sick. The note person knows where she lives. She's had an episode with stalking, so she's extra stressed because of that. Riverdale is a _messy_ place. A lot has happened when she was living there. New York was her liberation, her home, though her heart stayed with the red-headed boy who shall not be named for obvious, for Veronica and her friends, reasons. What is she supposed to do? Go, and face her fears? Or stay safely in New York City, but possibly have her secrets revealed?

She would be down for the second option, however, she's got too much to lose, to just underestimate these kinds of threats, even though she doesn't cognize who sends them.

Veronica was going to call Jughead and Kevin like she promised when they were leaving for a train to Riverdale. Though, she's not sure if they're worth calling since she, still, can bail on them. Until she crosses the 'Town with Pep' road sign, she won't be sure if she actually comes back to the town. 

She immediately books a train there and looks for her suitcase to pack a few clothes. _it better be worth it_ , she reflects, while selecting dresses from her wardrobe. Well, if you're going to show up on a homecoming dance and see people from your past, the best way to show them how well you're doing is to dress like a million bucks. 

Before she can even process it, Veronica’s back in Riverdale. She uncertainly takes first steps on the ground, outside of the train and feels nostalgic as if it’s her first day in Riverdale. She was a sophomore ready to change herself for better, enthusiastic, but also anxious as she was about to become _the new girl_ , New Yorkie in a small town. She was a topic of lots of gossips for the first months till they found a better thing to talk about, thankfully. 

The ride in a cab to the Pembrooke feels oddly familiar, too. The difference is, she’s without her mother now and she most definitely acknowledges the solitude. Lucky Hermione Lodge is, no doubt, sunbathing on the European beach at this moment. 

There is nobody to greet her this time, nobody to carry her luggage. Smithers is on a well-deserved retirement. He managed to keep up with her family's drama for way too long. She fights with a few quite depressing thoughts in her mind and she certainly needs to stop them. It’s not like she’s actually by herself here. She has Kevin and Jughead, _somewhere_ in the town.

She notices the dust on the furniture in the Lodges’ apartment and realizes that she could _at least_ have it cleaned out, but for the last years, she didn’t even dare to reflect about any memory she had from here, apart from a few that included her best friends. It’s not like she completely wanted to cut off this part of her life. She simply chose not to acknowledge events that were hurting her every time she reminisced them in her mind. And every memory of Archie Andrews was hurting her. 

_Of course_ , she had to notice a white note on a dining table that once witnessed the multifold of her family’s conversations.

**_Come to the school the night before the homecoming_. **

It's this night. She already can tell that it’s going to be _quite_ interesting, hopefully only a couple of days.

_the night before the homecoming_

She anxiously opens the door to the Student Lounge and feels the light, from the flashlights pointed at her, on her face. Veronica sees her friends ostensibly shocked by her sight and likewise people she hasn’t seen for a _long_ time. Cheryl, Toni, Reggie, all looking at her with a little of a disappointment on their faces, like they expected someone else. Although, the person, the most taken aback is, _noticeably,_ Archie Andrews.

Even though the lights are down, it’s not completely darkened and she can observe how he looks. His face is still pale like it was ever since she met him sophomore year. Though it's not smooth anymore. Archie grew a little facial hair. His glowing maroon hair is barely shorter, on the other hand, he did change his hairdo. Even after six years, his lips stayed as pink as they were the last time she kissed him. It was a brief quick kiss on the day of the graduation. Never in a million years, she would think that it could be the last time she touched those narrow lips and had to live with this memory for the next couple of years. Can eyes change colors for brighter or darker? If so, it was not a case in his situation, because the same cinnamon eyes are looking at her right now with so much distress.

In the first few seconds, she’s not able to process why he looks like that, but then she also notices _the gun_ he’s pointing at her at the moment. Everyone stays still and doesn’t get any words out.

‘’Veronica.” she hears his voice for the first time in years. It became low-key hoarse and considerably lower, but Veronica could recognize him in the crowd with hundreds of different people.

She genuinely can’t find words that would fit in this conversation. She would lie saying that she’s never imagined how their meeting would look like but certainly didn’t have a gun in her version. What is even going on there?

‘’Archie,” she pauses. ‘’ do you mind lowering your gun before you shoot me?’’ before she has a chance to look into his eyes again, she moves on to Jughead and Kevin, the only ‘familiar’ faces in the room.

_What was even that? Do you mind?_ She can already sense her cheeks reddening, hoping no one else will notice it. One minute with _him_ and she already loses her mind.

‘’You won’t greet me?’’ she gives a little smile and Kevin expeditiously squeezes her in his arms. ‘’Why didn’t you call us?’’ Jughead voices and puts a hand on her arm to, further, close her in a hug.

‘’Surprise?’’ Veronica replies uncertainly and giggles, seeing their faces. Deep down, she knows that it had _nothing_ to do with shocking them, but more with a certain note.

The unexpected reunion is stopped by _someone_ , who is the reason they all are brought together.

‘’Guys, another note.’’ Toni announces, taking everyone’s attention on the white card laying on the wooden table in the center of the Student Lounge. Veronica, at first, assumes that it’s already been there but by everybody’s faces she can sense that, in fact, _it wasn’t._

‘’I swear to God, it has to be one of you little hobos.’’ Cheryl claims with annoyance in her voice and picks up a note from the table. She decides to read loudly the content. 

**_That's all for today. Have fun with each other, but don't think you're done._ **

"Seriously, how someone could come in here without being seen?" Betty points at the table and studies everyone's faces. "This is impossible unless it's one of us." She reviews every face like a true private investigator she is.

"Chill out, detective Cooper." Reggie stands up from the leather armchair, he's been sitting on and glances at Betty's face before tearing apart the white note. "This is stupid. And also, you don't have to make accusations." 

"Yeah, Betty, stop it for now." Archie looks at Betty and touches her arm. "It could be laying here since we arrived."

Veronica feels something odd in her stomach. _even if they’re together, they don't have to show it that much,_ she judges, even though she knows she's insane for having this kind of thoughts in her mind. Of course, they can do that. They're probably together and it was _just_ a touch. But if it was just a simple touch, why did it feel like a slap in Veronica's face? 

"You, all, seriously don't think that it's one of us?" blond girl looks low-key mad after saying that. "Cheryl, _please_ back me up."

"Definitely, cousin." she walks to Betty and wraps her arm around her shoulder. "We're gonna find what's going on here." 

Archie thinks that he's the only one that stayed in the school building for a little longer. He solely wanted to walk around there and reminisce about some high school-related memories. Contrary to appearances, high school was one of the best years of his life. To his surprise, he wasn't the only one there. 

He walks into the music room, where he used to practice playing the guitar all the time, and do _other_ , a little dirtier things. When he opens the door, he catches _Veronica Lodge_. The long wavy almost-black hair is falling at her back. She holds in hands her obsidian cape. She wears an amber lace dress with longs and ruffled bell sleeves by the hands. It's not long apparel, so she also has long black high-heeled shoes. 

Veronica bounces out of fear when she first sees the redhead, probably as she thought that she’s by herself in the building too. 

"Wow, I'm sorry. Hi." he awkwardly asserts. "I can go if you want." Archie offers after realizing that she was there alone and maybe wants it to stay like that. He wasn’t _that,_ somewhat, graceless since he met a person who actually wanted to promote his music.

"Hi, no, you don't have to." she laughs a little, but it happens to be a quite nervous laugh, so she goes silent for a few seconds. 

"I- I'm sorry about the gun thing." he scratches his neck, whiles announcing it. Archie doesn't even know what he's supposed to say in this situation. It's definitely weird talking after almost six years of radio silence. "We just thought that it might be this note person."

"And you wanted to shoot him?" she asks sarcastically but adds after seeing his a little bit upset face. "I'm just messing. I- I know you wouldn't shoot anyone." she smiles sweetly. It's one of his favorite smiles. The little yet genuine one. 

"So," he tries to start a casual conversation, not knowing why exactly he's doing it. "how's your life? You still live in New York?" Archie still remembers how much Ronnie always wanted to go back to New York City. She enjoyed living in Riverdale, she had her friends there, family, but New York was _always_ her true home. He shouldn't be surprised, she was born and raised there, spent most of her life in Manhattan, exactly like he did in Riverdale. They had big plans after high school, but obviously, he had to ruin everything they built together. Like he ruined many other aspects of his life.

"Yeah, I do. I'm mostly focused on my business right now. Just opened a new restaurant." she nods slowly. _damn, a restaurant,_ he thinks. He probably shouldn't be surprised knowing Veronica. She was definitely a busy bee these six years and he shouldn't expect any less from a Lodge. "What about you? I heard that you moved to the west coast, huh?" raven-haired beauty giggles looking just right into his eyes. _She heard? What other things did she hear?_ Archie's eyes light up a little when he hears her words. Although, he's not supposed to feel like that. It's embarrassing of him to freak out when his ex mentions that she knows something about his life. 

"Right, I live in San Diego now. I- Uh, I signed a contract with a music label some time ago. I've been working on my first E.P." he tells her quite shyly. He _surely_ doesn't tell her this just for her to see that he's actually done something with his life. 

"Wow, look at you. Record label." she smiles and they look at each other without any of them saying anything. Archie feels like it's been an eternity of only looking at Veronica's adult face. She hasn't changed much. She's still the same gorgeous girl he met the last day of summer before sophomore year in Pop's. Only now she's not a fifteen-year-old girl anymore. She's a woman now. The only difference he can notice is her chocolate hair being longer.

The silence breaks a phone ring. Veronica's phone. "Sorry, I have to go, um- see you?" he responds and watches her wearing a cape and leaving through the music room's door. 

_'See you?' Where else could he possibly go?_

It feels like faking being fine and unbothered is Veronica's second job. The skill she inherited from Hiram Lodge. Who would've thought that it would be so useful in the future? She's not sure if Archie could sense it, but she was so very nervous when they were talking. She tried to play it cool. What else are you supposed to do in a situation like that anyway?

She was truly impressed when he told her about the album. She heard that redhead was starting his career in music, but she didn't realize that he already got a contract. Should she be surprised? Not really, considering the fact that he was both good looking and talented. 

When they stopped talking and just looked at each other, not gonna lie, she might've even forgotten about reality for a second. Being in the same room with her former love after so much time. It felt like nothing's changed. _But it did_. The only reason she didn't freak out while talking to Archie was because she promised herself to be calm. They're not teenagers anymore, they're adults with their own lives. Though she cannot just erase from her mind the graduation. Also, Betty's here. _they're probably engaged by now,_ she thinks. 

The phone call probably saved her. She bolted before Archie could even respond to her quick goodbye. And who was her lifesaver? Her PR manager asking something about her new establishment. 

She goes back to the Pembrooke only to find Jughead there laying with shoes on, on her quite expensive sofa. She puts down her cape and, not so carefully, takes off her black high heels. 

"Where's Kevin?" she asks and sits on the ground beside her friend. "Also, take these muddy shoes off my sofa. It's probably more expensive than your monthly salary." 

"He's asleep." he notices her excited look and adds. "Yes, we're staying with you." Before they left for Riverdale, she offered them a stay in her apartment in the Pembrooke, but they refused to do that. Now they're here because of Veronica. It's nice to have them here though. It won't be so lonely. 

"How did you even get here?" she looks at him suspiciously, but before he has a chance to answer, she stops him. "You know what? I don't wanna know." 

"Why did you stay longer in school? And, _please,_ don't say that you wanted to have a memory walk or something." 

"But I _did!"_ she says it a little louder than expected. It was true, she just wanted to see the school she hasn't been in for many years. Is it _really_ so hard to believe? Though, it wasn't so convincing for Jughead. Because maybe it wasn't true after all? She feels like she's slowly losing her mind. "Oh, I'm gonna go to sleep. It's, like, three in the morning." she's too tired and confused to also mention the fact that she talked to Archie Andrews, but maybe it's for the better since Jughead's not so civil when it comes to his ex-best friend. 

The street lights beacon Archie the way home as the night goes on forever. The thoughts are dizzying in his mind, he should talk to somebody. Fine, he _really_ should talk to somebody. He hopes that Betty can’t sleep as he’s dialing her phone number.

He hears a quiet mumbling in the earphone. ‘’Archie? You just woke me up.’’ Betty yawns and attempts to keep her voice down, probably not wanting to wake up her daughter. ‘’Are you okay?’’ she asks aware that he _did_ stay in school longer. Is it so obvious that he’s not fine?

"I talked to Veronica." he admits, laughing nervously. "I did and- I don't know, Betty." red-headed boy goes quiet for a second. "It's been so long and I finally saw her." 

"Is that it?" she giggles softly. "What were you talking about?" It's not _just_ it. It’s _Veronica_ they’re talking about. Veronica Cecilia Lodge, his first true love.

"Um, she-" he swallows his saliva, he can’t even speak normally. "She owns a business in New York, because, you know, it's Veronica." he laughs a little. "Also, I told her about my music deal." 

"That's great, Archie." he hears how she puts her head on the pillow. "But I can't believe how you're still so whipped around her." she doesn't sound irritated, but rather amused. 

"Yeah? And what about you and Jughead?" Betty and Jughead. High school sweethearts, who suffered the same fate as Veronica and Archie. We one, not-so-little exception. Betty had their daughter and decided not to tell her ex-boyfriend. Most of the time, he thought that it wasn’t his place to judge her but now, when he thinks about Veronica having their child and he wouldn’t be in the first 5 years of their life, he feels sick to his stomach.

"That's different." she sighs. ‘’That's _totally_ different.’’

Veronica, knowing that she's going to attend a school party, brought a few dresses from her favorite boutiques in New York. After discussing her options with Kevin, she settles for a simple satin flaming red knee-length dress with thin straps. 

"As much as I enjoy a good party, I truly don't want to go." she heavily sighs and sits on a sofa in the living room with Jughead as they're waiting for their other friend to finish prepping. "Hey, _Forsythe_ ," she turns her head to him. "Didn't you say something about us having fun at the homecoming when you tried to persuade me into coming here? he nods. "So, where is it?" she says half-jokingly, half-seriously. 

"I guess that the word 'fun' could slip out of my mouth," he takes a deep breath. "but what do you want me to do anyway?" Maybe she’s going to have a little distraction from this whole messy situation after all.

"Aren't you a writer? Come up with something." she teases him.

" _Fine_. So we could…" he goes silent for a moment, but then looks at her with his i-have-a-perfect-idea eyes. "It's just one night, right?" she nods seemingly interested in his idea. "What do you say about us fooling people that we’re a _couple_?" 

"That’s an interesting scheme, I have to admit." she straights herself up. "Fine, Forsythe. Sometimes your fanfiction-creativity is helpful." she jokes, perfectly knowing how Jughead hates that. 

"Kev, you coming?" Veronica shouts to check if her best friend, perhaps, drowned in the number of clothes he brought for the homecoming. 

_This should be entertaining._

Sophomore year. Almost-sixteen years old Veronica Lodge rolled into town in the classic femme fatale fashion. With new provisions to change, she met Betty and Archie. Later her new bestie and boyfriend. They were her companions to Spring Formal. She still remembers them walking into the school gym. Betty holding Archie’s left arm, Veronica - right. _Oh, how much has changed._ Now, Veronica grabs Jughead’s hand, squeezing it a little. Kevin’s right beside them being initiated in their little agreement. _An agreement_ , since she doesn’t exactly know how to call it. Deal, prank, play, _lie_?

‘’What do we do now?’’ Jughead whispers to her ear unnoticed.

Veronica chuckles through her motionless smile. ‘’Just follow my lead.’’ Why is she doing it anyway? She’s not sure. Is it because she wants to feel slightly better while being here? Or maybe she wants a certain red-headed boy to see what he lost? Fortunately, it’s not like she’s just using her friendship with Jughead. The boy knows exactly what he’s doing and it might be because he finally saw Betty Cooper, a girl who broke his heart in _many_ awful ways.

Kevin happened to disappear out of sight and the last moment Ronnie saw him was when he looked immersed in a conversation with former bulldog - Marmaduke Mason. Midge attended the homecoming, sure, although she was glued to an arm of a blonde classy guy. No one who Veronica knew or at least has seen in school. Is it possible that Kevin and Moose will be given a second chance? Given the fact how her good friend was longing after him for quite some time after Moose dumped him for Midge junior year of college. Kevin declared her not to judge his ex, so Veronica’s not going to do it. 

‘’So, you guys are a thing now?’’ Fangs asks Veronica and Jughead over the punch table. Sweet Pea has an arm wrapped around his shoulders. It seems like she should ask the same question.

‘’Well,’’ Jughead glances briefly at the black-haired lady. ‘’it appears that way.’’ he laughs nervously. Veronica can’t believe how much he sucks at pretending. She has to do _everything_ by herself.

‘’We are.’’ she imperceptibly pokes man in the back. ‘’You know, I guess we had more in common than we both thought.’’ she smiles overly sweet at her friend and thankfully he realizes he has to do the same.

‘’Oh, like your dates hooking up with each other?’’ Sweet Pea grins before he realizes what he said _exactly._ Everyone’s faces freeze as the man says these words. Fangs quickly bangs his boyfriend in the arm. ‘’Pea!’’ he reprimands him.

‘’Oh shit, sorry. I- I didn’t want it to sound like that.’’

‘’That’s fine. We’re not mad.’’ Veronica tries to present fine as Jughead’s probably perishing from the anger inside.

‘’Okay, we’ll go before Pea says something stupid again.’’ Fangs waves them as they’re walking away. ‘’That was quite interesting.’’ Veronica admits and notices Josie with Chuck Clayton.

Veronica and Josie are good friends indeed. She definitely would know if Jughead and Veronica became a couple. Thankfully, they haven’t been talking, as much, lately considering the fact that Josie was touring around the USA with her band - ‘’The Pussycats’’.

‘’Girl, I didn’t know you were coming!’’ Veronica voices cheerfully as she’s greeting her friend. ‘’Weren’t you in Miami yesterday?’’

‘’It’s just one quick flight. And I wanted to see some familiar faces, you know.’’ she beames but looks suspiciously. ‘’Speaking of which? What’s the deal with you two?’’

Jughead joins the conversation. ‘’We, sort of, uh-, started dating.’’ The couple watches Josie’s eyes widening.

‘’Oh my God, who would’ve thought that Jughead Jones would steal your heart.’’ she looks at blushing Veronica. ‘’You remind of Blair and Dan for Gossip Girl, have you noticed it?’’ they both laugh at the Gossip Girl reference. Jughead simply stands confused not knowing a single thing about this TV show. ‘’Oh, don’t give me this face, I’m sure you’re gonna catch up!’’

Archie and Betty finally appear at the party, an hour late, but at least they’re there. He seems to look for one specific person. Veronica Cecilia Lodge, that is. He barely slept through the last moments of the night since he came back from the meeting pretty late. The memory of talking to his ex-girlfriend was not helpful at all with falling asleep. The main thought circulating in his mind was ‘ _what if_ ?’. What if he told her everything last night? What if he told her the truth the night of the graduation? What if he didn’t even go anywhere and just stayed squeezing her hand for the entire graduation? He thought he would get over her. _Crap,_ he thought that he just needed clarity, but now he knows. He needed _her_. He was acting stupid for the last six years. Now is the time.

‘’Should we find Veronica and Jughead?’’ Betty whispers nervously. ‘’Oh- It seems like they just found us.’’ she quickly changes her mind when she sees the couple walking up to them _holding hands._ Archie feels like his heart just dropped with the sight of his love with his ex-best friend. He deserved that. Of course, she wouldn’t wait for a guy who broke her heart. With his best friend? Well, isn’t it what he _kinda_ did anyway?

‘’Hi,’’ Veronica starts and everybody is looking right at her. ‘’I know it’s a little awkward but I guess we could act civil, at least.’’ she smiles and glances at Jughead. ‘’We’re adults now, right? We have our own lives.’’ Betty looks at him with the you-didn’t-tell-her kind of look and turns around to Jughead and Veronica. ‘’Yeah, for sure.’’

There’s an awkward silence for a second and it’s broken by Cheryl who magically pops up next to them. ‘’Hey, Sad Breakfast Club, don’t forget to vote for the homecoming king and queen.’’ Toni comes up to them and kisses Cheryl in the cheek. _Weren’t they very much broken up just yesterday?_ ‘’Vote for Choni I guess!’’ she leaves them all pretty dazed.

‘’Anyway,’’ this time Jughead speaks. ‘’shall we?’’ he follows Veronica as they’re walking away from Betty and him.

‘’That was….’’ Archie starts but can’t find words that describe this situation. Thankfully Betty can.

‘’Strange, bewildering, upsetting, complicated?’’ Betty still eyes Jughead’s silhouette. ‘’I can go on and on.’’ she exhales.

‘’And the homecoming king and queen are…’’ the person behind the microphone opens the envelope. ‘’Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper!’’

It surprisingly hurts. Her heart breaks a little when she hears the name of her former boyfriend and best friend. Jughead disappeared right before the big announcement and she was left alone there. She has to get out of there as quickly as possible. She has to disappear too. The front door is like a neon sign for her.

_why does it hurts so much,_ she could ask but perfectly knows the answer.

She and Archie were the prom king and queen. Before this whole mess. Veronica and Archie. Not Betty by his side. _She_ held his hands while they were dancing to _Always_ by Bon Jovi, surrounded by the whole class of 2020 but at that moment only the two of them mattered to her. 

She doesn't realize when did she end up in the bathroom cabin, though she's _so_ glad it somehow happened 'cause she let out the ugliest sob. She should've known it would trigger her. She _knows_ she should've stayed in New York. Why would she want to see, from all the people she met, Archie Andrews? The guy who broke her heart into a million pieces and never managed to fix it. She deserves better, so much better. Yet she's here, shedding tears in the school toilet on the homecoming. The thing was - with all of her _many_ break ups, she got over it pretty quickly because she knew the reasons for them. Although with Archie, Veronica never got the clarity she needed so much. Her heart still aches because of her ex-boyfriend. As much as it's embarrassing for her to think that she never got over her high school sweetheart, that happens to be the truth.

At this point, _she might depart even quicker than she arrived in Riverdale._

Somewhat humiliated Veronica eventually comes out from the cabin and after she wipes away the last tears, she notices yet another note, stuck to the mirror. 

**_The fun's barely started. Andrews' house. Tomorrow at 8 pm. Truth or truth?_ **

The universe is purely playing with her and she ~~loves~~ hates it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have to say that yes, archie and veronica are very lost, indecisive and a little depressed children, just deal with them I guess
> 
> so hi, these 3 weeks, since i last updated, were quite intense, i wasn't sure what exactly i was doing with this work.  
> what i knew for sure is that i really wanted to keep going and write this fic. that's why i got my shit together and finally planned everything! as you could notice, i'm planning on writing 7 chapters. also i think i found my "way" of more productive writing lol. i'm not new to writing fics but i've never written in english before.
> 
> i'm very thankful for all the comments I've gotten so far. every word means a lot to me! also shoutout to girls from discord gc, i appreciate all the support i got from you so much, thank you for giving me such a warm welcome in the varchie fandom here!<3
> 
> you can find me on:  
> twitter @vcrslodge  
> tumblr @lostinlodge
> 
> mel xx


	4. unfortunate sense of deja vu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> after 5 months i'm back in this universe! tbh, i'm so sick of writing this chapter that i don't want to ever read it again lol i'm not really proud of this chapter but i decided to finish writing it anyway.
> 
> _previously on your love (i'm lost in):_  
>  Veronica and Jughead are back in Riverdale after 6 years because of the unknown notes, they meet Archie and Betty, years after the graduation that turned their lives upside down. There are clearly some unresolved feelings between Archie and Veronica. There's a homecoming dance in Riverdale High, Archie and Betty win the title of the homecoming couple. In the end of the last chapter, they get a new note.

_'cause all I know is we said hello_

_and your eyes look like coming home_

_all I know is a simple name_

_and everything has changed_

It feels like it's been an eternity in Riverdale, though only the third day is passing. Or more like two and a half for Veronica since she arrived at night, just in time for the reunion in the Student Lounge. Even though she wasn’t in the town for years, effectively finding excuses for not coming back. She would feel irresponsible in any other similar situation, considering the fact that she left here her flourishing business. La Bonne Nuit, the entrepreneurship that started her career.

She didn’t know many people that she would trust with managing her speakeasy and then Cheryl Marjorie Blossom appeared and offered help with La Bonne Nuit herself, assuring that she’s the best person in this whole town to take this job. Veronica wouldn’t give it to a random person but the redhead wasn’t _random_ , she had experience with managing a business and was taught for her whole life all about it, same as Veronica. Cheryl seemed like the best option, so Veronica agreed to let her be La Bonne Nuit’s manager. She actually did a great job while Veronica was away, _well_ , at least she heard about it, and speakeasy’s books spoke for themselves anyways.

She walks into Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe for the first time since the full-of-drama senior year ending. The bloody red booths are occupied by local teenagers. Old photos, stickers, and decorations are still hanging on the walls. Veronica is almost sure that they haven’t changed since she first came to town, almost a decade ago. She notices a black old man behind the bar and, immediately, a smile creeps on her face. Pop stares at her for a few seconds, somewhat taken aback by her presence. His wrinkles are more visible when he smiles widely at Veronica.

‘’Veronica Lodge, as I live and breathe.’’ He comes out from behind the counter and closes her in a warm hug. ‘’I thought I wouldn’t live to see this moment.’’ He jokes.

‘’Don’t say that!’’ Veronica chuckles. ‘’Not much has changed here, huh?’’ She looks around the diner.

‘’That’s because we lost a great manager.’’ Before graduating Veronica decided to give the restaurant back to Pop. She knew that she would have a lot on her plate with university and living in a big city. Moreover, she felt bad for Pop, it was his family’s business, she wouldn’t want something like that to happen to Lodge Industry. She’s glad that she did that, she wouldn’t do a good job here anyway since she didn’t even want to come back to Riverdale.

‘’I’m having a meeting in La Bonne Nuit right now but I’ll see you later.’’ She declares as she’s going deeper into the room and goes through the old door, leading to her place.

Veronica goes down the stairs to a little speakeasy beneath the diner. The pleasant feeling appears in her stomach as she’s looking at La Bonne Nuit. She almost feels like she’s going to tear up, _maybe later though_. Unlike Chock’lit Shoppe, there were some major changes downstairs. Raven haired girl isn’t so surprised, as she was the person who approved of all of them. She saw the photos and everything but it’s the first time she views everything in person. _i guess Cheryl really was the right person for this job_ , she judges.

‘’Look who decided to come!’’ The redhead appears out of nowhere _or maybe she was here for the whole time Veronica was contemplating about this place_. ‘’I have to say, I was surprised when you showed up that night in school.’’ She says and embraces V's small body in a brief hug. 

"So good to see you, Cher." Veronica says as she's sitting down at the double table, same as her friend. "I have to admit, La Bonne Nuit looks _exquisite_." She gesticulates while saying the last word of the sentence. 

"I'm glad you like it but we're not here to discuss my magnificent work, are we?" Cheryl throws a suspicious face, eyeing Veronica expression. 

"Of course we're not." She admits boldly, remembering last night's Cheryl and Toni's cheek-kisses. "What's going on with you and TT? Cheryl's surface surprisingly reddens a little, something that Veronica hasn't seen in years, if ever. 

After leaving Riverdale, Veronica didn't have many friends from the town, though Cheryl was among her limited circle, as she was taking care of the speakeasy. Blossom was an often visitor in the Town with Pep, mostly because her Nana Rose was living there with someone taking care of her. Veronica and Cheryl weren't just business partners, they leaned on each other when they felt the need to, sometimes even quite literally. They had a few make-outs, from time to time but finally they decided to stay just as friends, they were more like rebounds to each other than anything else. 

"I don't know what you mean, Veronica." Cheryl replies nonchalantly and refuses to look at her friend's eyes but Veronica doesn't say anything. She's simply waiting for her answer. Eventually, Cheryl decides to break the silence and smiles. "It's just- It's so different and it happened so quickly. One minute we were fighting over a silly little thing and the next, we were making out on a sofa in Thistle House." 

"Not to be that person but I totally saw that coming.’’ Veronica announces and takes a sip of the maple rum, Cheryl’s newest business. The girl stares at her with a questioning look. ‘’What? I’m just saying that, apparently, Toni and you are meant to be together.’’

‘’Please, V. Lo, since when do you believe in fate, huh? I don’t recognize you.’’ She takes a sip herself but then she realizes something, she hastily puts down the glass and studies Veronica’s expression. ‘’Is there something between you and your Archiekins?’’

Veronica throws a look. _didn’t Cheryl hear about her and Jughead?_ , she considers. Why would she think that something happened with Archie? ‘’He’s not my Archiekins anymore. Should I remind you what happened between us?’’ She still finds herself having trouble with saying the word _cheating_ out loud, somewhat it even feels embarrassing to say that and she wasn't even the one who did it.

‘’Oh, I don’t know. Should I remind you that?’’ She looks at her with judgment though Ronnie knows that her friend only shows that she cares and wants what’s best for Veronica. ‘’V, I’m only saying that, if something was happening with you two, I don’t think that you should go down the same road again.’’ She offers a comforting little smile.

‘’I’m an adult, Cheryl, so I’m able to make my own decisions and, by the way, going back to Archie is not one of them. I have some self-respect for myself. So please, can go back to the Toni thing? ‘Cause I’m not in a mood for talking about anything else.’’ 

Archie decides to visit one of his favorite places in Riverdale, where he spent a massive amount of time - El Royale Boxing Club, Tom Keller’s place he bought and took care of after he retired from the Riverdale’s sheriff job. Archie always tended to box here to clear his head, especially after his dad died a senior year and high schooler was so lost. El Royal gave him a sense of comfort and Tom Keller became a father figure to him.

He walks into the old building, this place is definitely more popular than it was a few years back. He can see a lot of teenagers, boys, and girls, on the boxing ring with the ex-sheriff. Surprisingly, he spots Reggie Mantle working out on a boxing bag in the corner of the room.

Reggie lived in California, the same as Archie, and even though they didn’t live close to each other, they stayed in touch. Former bulldogs had occasional meetings once in a while. Reggie graduated from college majoring in business and took over his family’s company, creating the firm’s headquarters in Los Angeles.

Archie approaches his friend. ‘’Hey, man.’’ 

Reggie notices him and stops the workout. ‘’Hey, what’s up, _homecoming king_?’’ He messes with Archie and he gives him a look.

‘’You got a new note?’’ He asks Reggie as they’re sitting on a bench close to the other boxing bags.

‘’Yeah, maybe _you_ are sending them. Your ass didn’t want to go out and wanted everyone to come to your house.’’ He grins, trying to guess who’s responsible for the white cards everybody from their gang is getting. That’s Archie’s biggest concern at the moment. Obviously, this person couldn’t choose any other house to do this game. _Truth or truth?_ He recalls the note he found at the doorstep when he came back home yesterday, after the homecoming dance. It must be some messed up game of truth and dare.

‘’ _Of course_ , ‘cause I’m the person who wanted to come back here and mess up with you guys’ lives.’’ Archie answers sarcastically and stares into space around, a little mad, not because of Reggie joking about it but in this whole situation. He could be in San Diego attempting to write songs for his next album but instead, he’s here, not knowing why exactly. 

‘’What about Veronica?’’ His friend asks, seemingly interested in this topic in particular.

‘’What about her?’’ Archie responds like he doesn't even know why Reggie asked this question. Veronica is probably living her best life in New York, Archie would be just a problem to her, right? He ruined her life, hurt her and he didn’t even have guts, to tell the truth, but why?

‘’Bro, I’m obviously talking about you telling her that there’s nothing between you and Cooper.’’ Reggie found out the whole truth after he tried to beat Archie’s ass for cheating on a raven-haired girl. _he probably still should do it_ , Archie feels.

‘’I didn’t tell her.’’ Reggie gives him a dazed look. ‘’What? Are you completely stupid? You gotta tell her, God, what would you do without me in this world?’’ He punches his shoulder.

‘’I’m not gonna do it. She’s definitely better without me. Dude, she thought for six years that I cheated on her and I _kinda_ did so...’’ Archie’s expression changes for an upset one. The thought of breaking her heart is almost unbearable for him.

‘’Well, she wouldn’t have to think like that, if you told her the truth on the graduation!’’ He tells the second part of the sentence a bit louder, so Archie would finally understand what exactly he did wrong. ‘’You’re so dramatic. Why didn’t you tell her?’’

That’s the part that’s not clear even for Archie. They were in such a good place, they planned their college life together, having an apartment, maybe having a dog or cat. Why did he throw away their future like that? Well, he, kind of, cheated on her anyway but not aware of it, which is probably the weirdest part of it all. He could say that Veronica didn’t let him explain but he obviously could try harder if he really wanted to. The situation was quite different from Betty and Jughead’s cause they _never_ confronted it. Jughead just punched Archie hard, looked at Betty with hurt eyes, and got out of the room. He was just _gone_ , never answered the phone, or any messages which Betty left hundreds of. Archie, on the other hand, has never even tried to explain his actions.

‘’It’s not that simple, Reg. I had my reasons, okay?’’ He adds and, just like that, Veronica Lodge appears in the gym, looking like a goddess in a beige shirt and jet-black elegant pants, wearing an obsidian coat. What is she doing here anyway?

‘’Dude! It’s a sign, go tell her _right now_.’’ Reggie announces as he’s pushing redhead from the bench, they’ve been sitting on.

She didn’t expect to walk into the room with sweat and kids practicing some strange boxing techniques, she saw for the first time. Visiting a gym sounded more like seeing a few bare-chested men but apparently not in Riverdale. Veronica is supposed to talk with Tom Keller, owner of this little establishment, who seems to notice her as he just said something to his pupils and is now approaching the young lady.

‘’Hi, Veronica. Good to see you.’’ She smiles as he’s shaking her hand. ‘’Maybe we can talk over there?’’ Mister Keller points at a green bench in the corner of the room.

‘’It’s a nice place, you own. Helpful for kids, I guess.’’ She looks around and observes the boxing ring where teenagers are training. Suddenly, she spots Archie and Reggie staring right at her. She quickly shoves aside, trying to ignore their existence, she’s busy with other stuff now. ‘’Now I see why my father was regularly investing in this gym.’’

‘’Oh, I’m sorry for your loss. You were close, right?’’ He touches her arm to comfort her. Hiram Lodge died recently, a few weeks ago, from a heart attack and as much Veronica loved her father and would want to close herself alone in a room and sob in her satin pillow, she has a lot of things to do due to his death. The conversation about Hiram’s investments in El Royale was supposed to happen over the phone but Veronica finally visited Riverdale so she might’ve as well just come to talk in person.

‘’Yes and I also respected his business decisions,’’ she starts ‘’which is why I wanted to speak to you. I can imagine that it can be hard to run a place like that in such a small town so I’m gonna keep donating money, just like my dad did.’’

Mr. Keller seems thrown away a little. ‘’Wow, I- I didn’t expect that. Thank you.’’ he unexpectedly pulls her in a quick hug. ‘’Do you wanna meet the kids o-’’

She instantly interrupts him. ‘’No, no, I’m good. I prefer to be a silent investor anyway.’’ She stands up and shakes hands with the man. _Well, that was quite awkward._

Veronica has no intention to stay here any longer so she’s heading to the exit door but _someone_ has other plans.

‘’ _Go! Just go!_ ’’ she hears Reggie’s words in the distance. _shit, not them, not now,_ she ponders looking quite annoyed. Maybe, by any chance, she’ll be able to avoid Archie.

She speeds up trying to reach the exit but a low too-familiar voice stops her. She doesn’t even notice how visibly she freezes when Archie shouts her name.

‘’Archie. Hi.’’ Veronica looks into his amber eyes and goes. ‘’I’m re-’’

He interrupts her. ‘’I seriously need to talk to you, Veronica.’’

‘’Well, I’m busy.’’ the woman half-lies, half-not but she definitely wouldn’t want to speak to Archie right now.

‘’It’s important, please.’’

‘’I’m _sorry_ but I can’t talk here and now.’’ Veronica tries to ignore him and go away but unexpectedly he grabs her hand.

‘’ _Please._ ’’ Archie says one more time and the ebony-haired woman stops for a second, not expecting this to happen. His hand on hers is pleasantly warm and she feels something in her stomach but as soon as she realizes what is happening she pulls away.

‘’ _Listen_ ,’’ Veronica’s mad now. ‘’you don’t get to do _that_!’’ She announces probably a little too loud. ‘’You don’t get to ask me anything.’’ Who does he think he is anyway? Definitely not someone that she should waste her time on. _Not anymore._

‘’I-’’ the redhead starts but she doesn’t let him say anything.

‘’No, I _don’t_ have time so if you excuse me.’’ She speaks quietly now, not wanting to get anyone’s attention though Reggie still observes them from his bench.

_She really needs to clear her head now._

The park in Riverdale was, truthfully, one of the places Veronica visited the less when she lived there. She recalls having a few walks with Archie back in the day but Veronica Lodge is not exactly date-in-the-park kind of girl. That's why it's so refreshing for her to walk down these green paths, looking at the lake next to her. Somehow it reminds her of Central Park in New York, which was her very own safe place there, a place where she could go if she wanted to not think about something and that's what she's doing now. 

Brunette is so absorbed in thoughts that before she can realize, _something little_ runs into her. She turns around and sees a blond girl staring at her with a scared face. Does Veronica always look so scary for little girls? She's not even wearing her black cape. 

"I'm- I'm sorry." The little one hastily says and runs away, Veronica doesn't even have time to answer her. 

" _Julie, I hope that you apologized to this lady_." The black-haired woman hears a voice a few meters away and, _of course_ , she recognizes it. She wanted one peaceful moment and she got Betty Cooper instead. Veronica wonders if the blonde is her daughter though. 

"I'm so sorry for my daughter she-" Betty tries to apologize when she comes closer to Ronnie but then she realizes who she's actually talking to. " _Oh_. Veronica, hi." She adds awkwardly. 

"Betty. It's been quite some time, huh?" She tries not to sound weird or nervous, she shouldn't feel nervous anyway. "So who is _she_?" Veronica tries to have a civilized conversation since she said herself at the homecoming that they're adults and can move on even if it wasn't all true. 

"I'm Juliet." She glances at Veronica with her big green eyes but seems more interested in everything around her. "Can I go over there, mommy?" The girl points at the trees near them.

"Sure but don't go too far away." Betty smiles as Juliet goes away and then she turns to Veronica. "Can we talk, please?" Veronica's confused as to what Betty wants to talk about but nods, so they go and sit on the wooden bench a few steps away.

"So… You, two, have a daughter." Veronica concludes not exactly knowing why but she felt a need to say it out loud. It hurts a little too, thinking about how Archie and Betty became a family when Veronica was too focused on her business (and too hurt) to even have a boyfriend. She doesn't feel worse than them, for the longest time Veronica talked about how she wanted to have kids in her 30s but it simply feels more lonely. 

"What? No!" Veronica raises an eyebrow. "I mean- yeah, it's my daughter. But not Archie's." _Not Archie's_? Somewhat a rock falls off her heart when she hears it. "This is, kind of, what I wanted to talk about." 

She still doesn't get it. Just because she and Archie are not together, it doesn't change the fact that he cheated on her with her best friend. But if Juliet’s not Archie’s kid than whose? Veronica probably shouldn’t be so interested in Betty’s love life but she’s simply curious. The girl looks big. _five, maybe six years old_ , Veronica guesses. The blonde girl must’ve had her pretty young. Wait, five or six? Veronica does quick math in her head. _Is it possible?_

‘’How old is she?’’ she asks suspiciously her ex-friend.

‘’Um- She’s five. Veronica, I know what you’re thinking-’’ Betty attempts to add something but brunette doesn’t let her.

‘’Oh, my God.’’ she touches her head. "Don't tell me Jughead-" she cuts the sentence not knowing what to say. It can't be Jughead's child. It just _can't_. The thought of this little girl growing up without a father because Betty Cooper said so and didn't care to inform Jughead makes her sick to her stomach. 

"It's not what you’re thinking." She sighs and covers her face with her hands for a split second. 

"Then tell me because, I swear to God, I'm _very_ close to doing something to you right now." Betty smiles a little but quickly realizes that Veronica's not joking, or at least it doesn't seem fun to her. 

"Okay, so," the blonde girl takes a deep breath. "I found out that I was pregnant like a month after graduation. Jughead wouldn't speak to me. I called him so many times, I recorded myself on his voicemail countless times that I probably reached a limit of messages." She giggles a little but she doesn't look amused, more like hurt. "I don't think he ever listened to any of these messages, to be honest." 

"Well, he did change his number in New York." Veronica says, making Betty realize why she never got a response. 

"Anyway, at some point, I realized that I don't know where he is, what he's doing and he doesn't answer the phone, so I'm not gonna chase him." She exclaims. "Archie and I moved to California, he said that he would help me, you know? He might not be the father but he's the best uncle she could get." Betty glances at Juliet playing in the park near the women and smiles. 

"Why are you telling me this?" Veronica finally asks. After all these years when she thought that she would never see Betty and Archie's faces again, she's sitting right now on a park bench with Betty Cooper talking about her and Jughead's daughter. It must be a fever dream because what else? 

"I didn't want you to think that it's Archie's daughter, especially not now, when we're finally in Riverdale again together." She simply answers looking at Veronica with tears in her eyes. 

"What do you mean? It doesn't change anything for me." Why would she even think that? Veronica tried for years to move on and forget about him, that's what she's still trying to do. "It changes _everything_ for Jughead though. I can't lie to him, Betty."

"Veronica, please, don't tell him, I _will_ do it, I just- I still don't know how." 

" _Fine_ , but if he doesn't find out before we go back to New York, I'll tell him. He's my best friend, he can't live in a lie forever." 

Betty's silent for a moment, looking like she's fighting with her thoughts. "Yeah… He can't live in a lie and neither can you." 

Veronica looks at Betty with confusion. _no more lies, please,_ she thinks. 

"Listen, Archie was supposed to tell you but I don't think he did and you deserve to know the truth." Brunette's getting impatient. It's like Betty just can't get to the point. "I- I heard that you and Jughead are together and I don't wanna ruin it or anything but," she gasps trying to find good words to say it to Veronica. "Archie and I are not, and never were, together. Between the two of us… I don't think he even got over your break-up." 

Raven haired girl doesn't even try to say anything, she simply listens to what Betty has to say. 

"I saw him for the last six years and he just _cannot_ forget you. He wrote songs about you!" Veronica furrows her eyebrows. "I'll send you a few of them, it might be kinda illegal though since he hasn't released his album yet but you need to listen to them.’’

"I don't know what you want me to say, Betty? It doesn't change the fact that he cheated on me, with you, my best friend, of all people." She can't even hide the hurt in her voice anymore. This whole situation changed a lot in her life. And now Betty thinks that it can all be fixed because he wrote a few songs about her. They might not be even about Veronica, maybe they're about random girls he's been seeing, who knows? 

"Yeah, that's the main thing I wanted to talk to you about. Archie was supposed to tell you but I guess he never did, huh?" Veronica rolls her eyes, seemingly done with all these new things she just found out about. "I think it's time to tell you what actuallyhappened at graduation." 

So she did tell Veronica. Everything with details. She still doesn't understand a few things but it doesn't matter because she finally knows the truth. The truth that Archie didn't care enough to tell her. 

"Don't tell Archie that you told me." Veronica murmurs. "I still want to hear it from him and I feel like he wanted to tell me about it today but I didn't let him."

Veronica comes back to Pembrooke, exhausted from all the things and interactions that happened this day. She lays on her couch and starts to analyze. Everything that happened six years ago is now clearer than ever. Though it also feels like she’s been living in a lie since graduation, she _could_ know the truth. Then why didn’t she?

One thing’s obvious, Jughead has a child but it’s not her place to tell him about it, even though they’re best friends. It’s between him and Betty. _Like the graduation mess is between Archie and Veronica._

‘’Hard day?’’ Jughead approaches her and sits right next to her head.

‘’Yes, what were you even doing?’’ She immediately sits straight. ‘’Did you spend the whole day in the Pembrooke?’’ She wonders and furrows her eyebrows. 

‘’Well, excuse me but I didn’t feel like going out anywhere. I tried to think about who might be responsible for the notes.’’ He adds.

‘’ _The notes._ ’’ She sighs. ‘’I completely forgot about them.’’ Another thing to worry about appeared right away.

‘’Wow, how busy you were that you forgot about the literal reason we’re here, Lodge?’’ 

‘’You really don’t wanna know.’’ She rests his head on Jughead’s shoulder. ‘’Okay, what did this new note said about again?’’

_**The fun's barely started. Andrews' house. Tomorrow at 8 pm. Truth or truth?** _

‘’Truth or truth, huh?’’ Veronica reads. ‘’You know, I feel like we should say that we’re not a couple.’’ She glances at Jughead. ‘’I didn’t think people would actually believe in this. I’m too pretty for you.’’ She giggles.

‘’Well, Betty and Archie did believe.’’ He mentions, not looking at her. ‘’But they have each other anyway, so they probably don’t care.’’

_If Veronica knows, Jughead should know too, right?_ ‘’Actually…’’ She starts. ‘’I found out they’re not together.’’

‘’How?’’ Jughead questions right away, waiting for Veronica to finally open her mouth.

‘’It doesn’t matter but I know for sure that they’re not.’’

‘’Where does it leave _us_?’’ He asks as if Veronica knew all the answers. Though, she _thinks_ she knows for this particular question.

‘’In the same place, Jug.’’ She whispers. _In the same place._

No more excuses, no more ignoring, no more _lies_. It's 'truth or truth' time after all. Archie's old friends were, once again, filling his old house – the place he called home for most of his life, the place that was about to become the center of the note game now.

The note said 8 PM, no one was late, everybody came. Archie, Betty, Kevin, Reggie, Cheryl, Toni, Jughead, and Veronica. All eight of them are walking through the door frame, ready for uncovering some secrets since that's what they're supposed to do here, aren't they? 

After they all took their places at the dinner table, Betty is the first one to actually speak up besides littles ' _hi, how's it going?'._ "So, Archie got a new note that said more about this meeting." She shows the white card, holding it against her chest. 

"It basically says that it's just _spin the bottle_ game," Archie explains, as he's placing the empty bottle of alcohol in the middle of the table. "with a twist though."

"Yeah, it’s more like a _Seven Minutes In Heaven_.’’ Betty adds, glancing at her friends. ‘’Who’s going to start?’’

‘’Let’s start with an A, shall we?’’ Cheryl announces with a little smirk on her face. ‘’Archie?’’

‘’I have an unfortunate sense of deja vu.’’ Veronica whispers to Jughead, who’s sitting right next to her, though her voice happens to also reach Archie’s ears. Jughead chuckles at her words, making Archie’s stomach burn a little. _but he has no right to feel that way_ , he reminds himself.

Archie spins the bottle and it ironically points on… _Veronica_.

Her expression changes as she realizes that redhead is the person she’s going into the closet with. Though Archie can’t tell what she is feeling in this exact moment.

They are led into the tiny closet under the stairs, where Andrews used to keep brooms and other cleaning supplies. 

The couple can’t even stand on their feet, since there’s not much space. Thankfully, Archie manages to switch on the only light that’s there - a tiny bulb hanging from the ceiling.

‘’6 minutes, 30 seconds.’’ That’s all Archie can think of saying right now.

‘’We literally just got here, Archie.’’ A miniature smile creeps on her face. Archie internally slaps himself after her words, realizing how stupid it sounded.

‘’So... How are you?’’ He asks, not knowing what else to say to not make it even more awkward. ‘’Still living in New York?’’

‘’Yeah, graduated there and started my own business.’’ The woman tells him, leaving out any kind of detail. ‘’How are _you_? I heard you’re in the music industry?’’

_Did she hear about it?_ Little sparkles appear in his eyes, when he hears that. ‘’Oh yeah, I got a manager and I’m working on my first album.’’ Little does she know most of the songs are about a certain raven-haired girl _._ ‘’Um, how’s Jughead doing?’’

‘’Good, I think. He published his first book not so long ago.’’ Veronica observes Archie’s face and finally finds the courage to tell Archie about her and Jughead. ‘’We’re not together.’’

‘’What?’’ Archie’s caught off guard.

‘’Jughead and I. We’re not together, never were, to be honest.’’ The only reason she says that is because she hopes Archie will tell her about graduation, since he was probably trying to do it before.

‘’Listen, I’m sorry.’’ He blurts.‘’For everything I ever did to you, for hurting you, I’m sorry.’’

‘’You’re sorry?’’ Veronica’s confused. ‘’Why are you saying this?’’

‘’I just needed to tell you this.’’

‘’Well, you could’ve told me this six years ago?!’’ She raises her voice, hoping that her friends didn’t hear it. She’s mad, she’s _so_ mad right now and she’s not even sure why. Unresolved feeling, she can guess.

‘’Uh- I thought you don’t care about it anymore.’’ Archie only realizes how _wrong_ it sounds after the words come out of his mouth. He didn't mean that. 

‘’You did _not_ just say that.’’ She laughs bitterly. ‘’I can’t believe that _you_ don’t care about it anymore. You’re so ignorant.’’

‘’What? What are you talking about? _I loved you._ ’’ He blurts it, not knowing what else to say.

‘’And yet you kissed Betty, like I was nothing to you.’’

‘’It was an accident.’’ He cringes saying this, but unfortunately, it’s true.

‘’It couldn’t be just an _accident_ and we both know it.’’ She whispers. ‘’You never even tried to excuse yourself!"

"Well, would you even listen to that crap?" 

"I might have, considering the fact we were together and planning our future." Veronica admits with no angriness in her voice anymore. 

_Their future._ Something that Archie threw away the second he kissed Betty and he knows it, he also knew it at that exact moment six years ago and after analyzing it for so long, he still can't find any excuse. He was a kid, he was confused, he was a mess and he couldn't even realize it at that time. 

The kiss? It meant nothing but it _could_ mean something. It's not important now. What _is_ important is that he lost Veronica and now he has a chance to have her back, he can't let her go this time.

"Is it too late for telling you the truth about everything?" Archie asks Veronica, looking deeply into her chocolate eyes.

"You tell me." She speaks in the softest form of her voice. Though as soon as the sentence ends they hear people fighting against the wall. They look at each other with confusion. 

"Is that Jughead's voice?"

Suddenly the door to the closet opens. Jughead stands there, looking at Archie and Veronica.

‘’You, both, knew and you didn’t tell me?’’ The hurt in his voice, peaking through the anger.

‘’Calm down, what are you even talking about?’’ Veronica stands up to face her friend.

‘’ _Juliet._ I’m talking about Juliet.’’

_He knows._ She doesn’t answer, she doesn’t even know how to answer. It’s good that he found out, at least. Betty probably told him, though the scenery’s not exactly ideal, to throw at him this kind of news.

‘’I could expect it from Archie but you, Veronica? I thought I could trust you.’’ Jughead declares, right before leaving the Andrews’ house.

‘’Did you know about?’’ It’s Archie who asks, seemingly dazed by the conversation that just happened.

‘’Yeah, for about _three hours_.’’ She sighs and quickly walks away, following Jughead. 

Archie turns his head and meets Betty’s teary eyes as she’s standing a couple of meters away, standing in the kitchen door frame. Though, all he can think about is the fact he _still_ didn’t get to explain Veronica everything.

Everyone left Andrews’ house by now. Archie and Betty were sitting on the stairs in silence, trying to process the things that happened only a few moments before. The thought of Jughead and Juliet was their main concern or Betty’s since Archie’s head was filled with regrets and doubts about his and Veronica’s relationship. 

Though the point is, there’s _no_ relationship between them. He could move on, he could let _her_ move on (even though she possibly did). Should he do it? Should he let it all go? What if he doesn’t want to? Isn’t it unfair to Veronica though? That seems like the hardest decision he would ever have to make – to let hergo. 

‘’Archie,’’ his blonde friend finally speaks up, ‘’you have to tell Veronica the truth, you know that?’’ Her gaze is somewhat blank, empty. She’s not crying anymore, simply staring at the distance. 

‘’I know,’’ he agrees instantly, ‘’but how am I supposed to do it?‘’

‘’You’ll find a way but whatever you do, don’t let her go.’’ Betty hangs her head down, the guilt is there, locked safe in her head. 

‘’Everything is _so_ our fault, isn’t it?’’

‘’It is but you may still fix it. I don’t know about me though.’’ She sighs heavily.

‘’Betty?’’ His blonde friend looks up to see him. ‘’You can fix it, too.’’

Jughead storms into Veronica’s apartment. He’s _furious_. At Betty, at Archie, at Veronica, at everyone that ever knew about Juliet and didn’t care to tell him.

‘’How could you not tell me about it?’’ He yells, pointing at Veronica. ‘’How could you let me live without knowing that I had a daughter? This is too much.’’ He sits on the sofa in the living room. ‘’I thought I could trust you.’’

She sighs heavily. ‘’Was I the one that had your child and didn’t tell you about it for five years?’’ Veronica asks. ‘’Or was I the one that was with you, supported you, and had to put up with your weeping sessions for the last five years?’’ She chuckles faintly, also making Jughead smile a little. ‘’Jughead, I found out about it literally today. The only reason I didn’t tell you was because I wanted you to find out about it from Betty, not me. So yeah, all of these words that you just told me -- you can ask Betty. I'm not your enemy here.’’

‘’I’m not gonna talk to her.’’ He announces immediately. ‘’I’m not.’’

‘’Are you serious? Because I swear to God, either you’re gonna go talk to her yourself or I’m going to drag you there. It’s not something that you can escape.’’

‘’We shouldn’t have come here.’’ He growls, covering his face with his palms.

‘’We probably shouldn’t.’’ Veronica agrees and moves closer to him.

A few moments later Veronica’s phone vibrates. She instantly thinks that it could be a message from someone responsible for the notes. Her breath stops for a split second when she reads it.

**Can we meet at Pop’s tomorrow afternoon**? **A.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not gonna lie, i was soo dramatic about writing it but 5 months, barchie drama, and 6k words later, here i am haha
> 
> you might be kinda confused about the graduation night but in the next chapter the truth will finally be revealed! the writing is not ideal, i know that but i started writing just for fun so yeah. you can also read the first chapter of my other multichapter - ''tell me more'' which will be updated soon, i hope! thank you so much for the support from my varchie girls, love you<33
> 
> find me on:  
> tumblr @/lostinlodge  
> twitter @/chheronica


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